Mechanical music-playing instrument.



- F. 0. WHITE.

MECHANICAL MUSIGPLAYING INSTRUMENT. I

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 22, 1912.

. 1,103,854, Patented July 14, 1914 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

nnnnn nu F. 0. WHITE.

MECHANICAL MUSIC PLAYING INSTRUMENT.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 22, 1912.

mnked July 14, 191*:

2 SHEETSSHBET E525; Fi :4 $25.32

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FRANK C. WHITE, F MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE WILCOX & WHITE COMPANY, OF MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

MECHANICAL MUSIC-PLAYING- INSTRUMENT.

To all whom 'it may con (:em

- the action chest 1.

Be it known that I, FRANK C. Wurrn, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Merlden, county oi N ewHaven, State of:

Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in -Mechanical Music- Playing Instruments, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to an improved controlling means for mechanical music playing instrun'ients, such as pianos and other keyboard instrunients, the same being 01" particular value when employed in connection with an instrument of the so-called pneuniaticplayer type. p

Inthe accompanying drawings Figure 1 rqiresents conventionally and diagrammat ically certain parts of a player-piano with my invention embodied therein. Figs. 2, 3, ilzfllld 5 are detail views.

1 represents an action chest containing the action or striker pneumatics, not-shown.

2 represents the choker box, so-called, containing suitable mechanism by which the tension of air within the action chest 1 may be modified at will and shifted 'eitheabruptly from low tension to high tension or gradually from said low tension to high tension, and vice versa, so that the notes will be struck with the desired force. The de tails of that particular form of controlling mechanism shown in said choker box 2 will later be described.

'3 conventionally represents an exhauster. The exhauster 3 is connected with the action chest 1 through a suitable duct. Any suita- 'ble mechanism may be employed for creating a vacuum, or partial vacuum, at the exh'auster 3.

4 represents a regulator pneumatic which in this instance is associated with the choker boXiQ, the purpose of said pneumatic being to maintain a uniform low tension of air in This regulator pneumatic may be of the vwell known Iarker type, shown for example in Parker Patent No.

473,338 and whichis' too Well understood to require detailed description further than to state that it includes a movable member extended by a. suitablespring 5 and associated with a valve 6, which is looatedin the regulated air circuit leadin' from the action chest 1 to the exhausterl. nder low tension conditions itir flows frorii the action chest 1 Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 1 1, 1914.

Application filed November 22, 1912. Serial No. 732,802.

to a chamber 7 in the choker box 2. From the chamber 7 it flows into the regulator pneumatic 4, thence through the passage controlled by the valve 6 into a chamber 8, and thence to the exhauster 3.

9 isa passage controlled by a valve 10. This passage connects the chambers 7 and 8. When the valve 10 is open, there is a direct communication between the action chest 1 and the exhauster 3, so that the high tension in the exhauster 3- will be in direct commu nication with the action chest 1. It follows that when the valve 10 is closed, a regulated low tension will obtain within the act-ion chest 1, and when the valve 10 is open, a

high tension corresponding approximately 1:

with the tension in the exhauster 3 will occur within said action chest 1. The valve ll}- is controlled by a suitable pneumatic ir lica'ted at 11.

' 12 is a small bleed-hole connecting the interior of the pneumatic 11 with the chamber 8, so that the valve 10 will normally stand open, as shown in the drawings.

13 is a duct which leads to the atmosphere, in this instance at two points, one point being contro'lledby a valve 14 and the other by a valve 15. In both instances, these valves maybe in the form of springs which normally close the respective inlets controlled thereby. The valve 14 is manually controllable by a push-button 16, whic may be conveniently located on the instrument so as to be easily engaged by the finger of the operator. \Vhen the button 16 is pressed, the valve 14 opens the duct 13 and atmosphere rushes in. to the neumatic 11, closing the valve 10, thusputtlng the action chest in communication with the exhauster 3 only through the passage controlled by the ithe drawings, the valve 15 is closed'a nd the valve 10 is open, so that the' tension of the exhauster 3 will obtain inthe action chest 1. 7

When the lever 17 and the handle 21 are shifted to the position indicated in dotted lines, the lever 18 will be sli htly moved, opening the valve 15, flushing t as pneumatic 11 and closing the valve so that the regulated low tension will occur within the ac- .low to high, for the purpose of emphasizing solo or melody notes. To prepare for this, the handle 21 is shifted to the position indicated in dotted lines,- wherein the valve 15 will hold open the duct 13 and thereby cause the valve 10 to stand normally closed instead of normally open. The means for securing an automatic shift in the tension is controlled. from a tracker-board 22, which has-the usual. note perforations therein, and which has an additional expression perforation 23. This perforation 23 is con nected by a duct 24 with a pneumatic 25,-

which controls a valve 26 which normally closes a large bleed-passage in the duct 13, which bleed passage connects the interior of the duct 13 with the chamber 8. A notesbeet (not shown) traversing the trackerboard 22 normally closes the expression perforation 23 therein and the pneumatic stands collapsed, closing the valve 26. When, however, an expression perforation in the note-sheet registers with the expression perforation 23 imthe tracker, air rushes in, distending said pneumatic 25 and open ingwthe valve 26, thus opening the. pneumatic 11 through the large bleed passage tothe vacuum within the chamber 8. It is obvious that the tracker perforation 23 is eit'ective for automatic control only when the 'duct 13 is opened to atmosphere either by the yalve 14 or the valve 15. When this condition obtains, the valve 10 is normally closed, and consequently if the valve 26 is opened under such conditio s, the enlarged bleed passage controlled .thereby operates to put the interior of the duct 13 and pneumatic 11 in quick communication with the vacuum within the chamber 8, the tension therein being suflicieht to open the valve 10 either momentarily, or for so lon a period as the expression perforation 23 in the trackerboar'd remains open, and for which moment, or. period, the tension within the action chest 1 will-correspond substantially with the ten- .sion in the exhauster 3 not withstanding that 13 is open to atmosphere. 1 Y

From the foregoing it will be seen that a normal low tension may be attained in the action chest. 1 either by manually pressing down the button 16, or by swinging the handle 21 to the position indicated in dotted lines in the drawings, provided, of course, the perforation 23 is covered during such period. If at such time the perforation 23 1 is opened, the valve 10 will be automatically shifted to permit high tension. High ,tension may be normally secured at any time by allowing the button 16 to rise, or by shifting the handle 21 -to the posit-ion indicated in solid lines in the drawings. At times, it may be desired to further subdue the tone. This may be effected by shifting the hammer rest rail 27 which may be done through the. medium of a pneumatic 28. lln the drawings, a hammer rail 27 is conventionally shown as standing in its normal position. If, however, the pneumatic 28 is collapsed, the rest rail is shifted to a position nearer to the strings 29 so as to get the so-called soft pedal efiect. This shifting of the hammer rest rail and hammers is controlled by a valve at the inner end of the handle 21, which latter is pivoted at 30 to 21 acts as a valve to cover the open end of a pipe or duct 31, which in this instance may also constitute the pivot 20 for the lever 17.

Normally the valve end of the handle 21.

closes the open end of the duct 31, said handle being held in that position by any suitable means. By pressing the-outer end of said handle 21, the handle may be-tilted and the duct31 opened, whereupon, through the medium of a suitable pneumatic control located in a box 32, the pneumatic 28 is put in communication with the vacuum in [the exhauster 3 through the pipe 33, causing said pneumatic 28 to collapse, shifting the ham- :iner rail 27 to its fsoft pedal position. The handle 21 has its outer end exposed for manual manipulat-ion,- the same being located at some convenient place on the instrument so that'it may be easily gras ed by the hand of the operator. It Wlll t us be seen that, with the parts thus for dethe lever 17. The inner'end of the handle scribed, a quick shift may be efiected from high to low tension, and vice verse, by

the manipulation of the button 16 when the handle 21 stands in the position shown in solid lines, or it may be automatically effected from the tracker-board'22 when the handle 21 stands in the position shown in dotted lines. The pianissin'io'e'tfect may also be further attained by pressing down on the.

outer end of the handle 21 to shift the hammer rail 27, as aforesaid.

In the present invention I provide means whereby when the instrument is set for the purpose of automatically causing the melody notes to stand out prominent-1y, it is within the power of the operator to shade the accompaniment notes. ment notes ordinarily under such conditions \Vhile the aocompanihave been controlled and maintained at the handle in thiscase comprises a by-pass valve 34, which controls a passage which connects the chamber 8 within the choker box Witha chamber 35, which latteris also connected with the chamber 7. The passage controlled by the valve 34 is preierabl V shaped, as indicated in dottedv lines in l ig. 2. The valve Si is suitably connected, as by a rod 36, with an arm 37 projecting laterally from thelever 17. When the lever 17 and the handle 21 stand in the position shown in the dotted lines, the valve 34 will. stand in a. position ready to open the passage controlled thereby. If the handle 21 is now moved to the left, this opening of said passage will occur to a degree determined wholly by the degree of movement of the handle 21 to the left. This movement of said handle 21 opens the passage controlled by the valve 3% andputs the chamber 8 in direct communication with the v chamber 7 through the chamber 35, thus putting theaction chest 1 indirect communica tion with the exhauster 3 so "that all notes struck at such a time will be struck with more than the; regulated low tension vigor, the degree of increase being determined wholly by the degree to which the icy-pass nipulat-ion of the sin le handle 21, the operator may eii'ecta Wi range of variation in musical effects.

I have, EGljObVlOUS reasons, shown only one of the man forms which a comolete o 'erative mechanism may take to secure the ,spccti'vc notes are sounded. are too WBlldll'Kl'QI desired eilccts, and I wish. it to be clearly understood that l comprehend th .t many changes may be made in the various features of construction to adapt the mechanism to the various player mechanisms which are well known, without il paming from the spirit or scope of this in I have deemed it urine H several action neumatics series.

valve 34 opens the passage controlled thererefrained from showing the pneumatic action mechanism'other thaubya conventional representation, being understood that I mayapply this inventionto any appropriate, well known pneumatic action mechanism of the undivided or divided type, While I have shown the various valves and passages closely associated in the choker box, their particular relation may be changed, save that in the preferred form, the three passages, namely, the automatically regulated low tension passage, the valve-controlled high tension passage and the bypass or shunt passage controlled by the by-pass val e, are arranged in parallel instead of in For convenience in expression, these three passages may be referred to in the claims as parallel wind-ways connecting the two ends of a main wind-way, one end of the mainivind-Way leading-from the pneumatic action to the choker box, the other end of the main Wind-Way leading from the choker. box to the exhauster.

,- "What I claim is:

i. In a pneumatic music playing instrument, a pneumatic act-ion mechanism, oxhaust mec anism for creating a vacuum therein, a wind-way connecting said parts, including three parallel passages, a pneumatically controlled regulator valve for one of said passages, a manually controlled valve for another of said passages, and a valve for the third passage, with means for either manually or automatically operating said last mentioned valve, said means including a pneumatic for moving said valve to its closed or opened position, a duct leading from said pneumatic to the atmosphere and opening tothc atmosphere at two points, a valve for each of said openings to the-atmosphere, each of said valves being normally closed, a small blccd hole connecting said last mentioned pneumatic with said exhaust mechanism to exhaust the same and cause said valve to normally remain open when only when one of the manually controllable valves for the atmospheric openings 1n-the duct for the high tension valve is opened.

in a piano player, a sounding device, a

there" or, expression contrc a movable hamm ug the simmer at ditleic .t-

relatively to said sounding device,

i pneumatic mechanism. including a high. tension exhauster, a pneumatic for mechanically moving said hammer support, an action chest for controlling the mechanical operation of the hammer, a pneumatic regulator for automatically regulating the air tension between said action chest at a lower tension than in said exhauster, means iorabruptly putting sa1d action chest in direct communication with said exhauster to increase the a means. a

3. In a layer piano, a sounding device, ahammer t erefor, a pneumatic mechanism including an exhauster, a pneumatic action, a, wind-way leading from said action to said exhauster and including a pluralitg of passages arranged in parallel, a valve or one of said passages, with a pneumatic regulator cooperating therewith for automatically controlling the passage of air through said passage to provide a regulated tension in said pneumatic action, a valve for another of said passages with means for fully opening or fully closing said passage by means of said valve, a manually controllable valve for the third passage for varying the degree of openin therewith, with a single manually operabi e controlling device cooperating with the second and third of said valves for causing the second valve to stand normally closed while the thirdvalve is being opened, and with automatic means for opening the second valve even though the third valve is open.

4. In a player piano, a sounding device, a

.hammer therefor, a pneumatic mechanism including an exhauster, a pneumatic action, a wind-way leading from said action to said exhauster and including a plurality of passages arranged in parallel, a valve for one of said passages, with a pneumatic regulator cooperating therewith for automatically controlling the passage of air through said passage to provide a regulated tension insaid pneumatic action, a valve for another of saidpassages with means for fully opening or fully closing said passage by means of said valve, a manually controllable valve for the third passage for varying the degree of opening therewith, with a single manually operable controlling device coiiperating with the second and third of said valves for causing the second valve to stand normally closed While the third valve is being opened, and

with automatic means for opening the second valve eventhough the third valve is 0 en, said automatic means including a trac erboard and a perforated note sheet.

5. In a player piano, a sounding device, a

hammer, pneumatic action mechanism, an exhauster, a tracker-board, a pneumatic regulator for automatically controlling the tension of air within the pneumatic action' mechanism, a manually operable valve for permitting the degree of tension within the action mechanism to be gradually varied, with independent means for abruptly in.- creasing t e air tension within said pneumatic action mechanism whenever the same is less than the tension which obtains in the exhauster, with a-single manually controlable device coiiperating with said n'lanually operable valve and said means for abruptly increasing said air tension within the pneu matic hammer action mechanism.

6. In a pneumatic music playing instrument, a pneumatic action mechanism, ex haust mechanism for creating a partial vacuum therein, a wind-way connecting said parts including a plurality of parallel passages, a pneumatically controlled regulator valve for one of said passages to vary the de gree of opening thereof, a manually controlable valve for one of said passages also to vary the degree of opening thereof, and a pneumatically controlled valve for one of said passages to fully open or fully close said passage, a pneumatic for the third valve' being normally in communication with the exhaust and collapsed to cause said valve to open the passage controlled thereby under normal conditions, with means to open said pneumatic to atmosphere to expand the same to close said valve so long as said pneumatic is open to atmosphere, a tracker-board having perforations therein arranged to be opened and closed by a perforated note sheet,

one of said perforations coiiperating with the neumatic for the third mentioned valve to a ruptly cause the opening of said third valve when the same is closed, and a single manually operable means cooperating with the manuall controllable valve and also cooperating wlth the third mentioned valve to cause the latter to normally close its respective passage while the manually opal g ble valve is open.

, FRANK 0. WHITE. Witnesses:

STANLEY B. WHITE, -LoUIs A. KUHULE. 

